That’s they say, right? And yet, for some small business owners, a generous marketing budget just isn’t in the cards.

You can skimp on marketing, but I’m willing to bet you haven’t considered something that you should be thinking about…

And that’s the lifetime value of each loyal customer you attract with your marketing campaigns.

You know that it costs more to attract a new customer than it does to retain an existing one – but how much can you really afford to spend to attract a new customer?

Knowing the lifetime value of your customers is the key to creating a workable budget for marketing. That number should dictate how much you spend. Spend too much and you’re losing money in the long run. Spend too little – and you’re missing out on an opportunity to grow your business.

How to Calculate Your Lifetime Customer ValueDon’t know how to calculate the lifetime value of your customers? Here’s a simple, five-step process to get to the number you need.

Start with your company’s total revenue in the past year and divide it by the total number of purchases in the same period. The resulting number is your average purchase value.

Next, take your total number of purchases in the past year and divide it by the number of unique customers who made purchases. The resulting number is your average purchase frequency rate. (Note: if you make a log of cash sales and don’t request an email, then this number may not be accurate.)

Take your average purchase value and subtract the average purchase frequency rate from it. That gives you the customer value per year.

Calculate the average number of years a customer continues to buy from you. If you’ve been tracking unique purchases this shouldn’t be difficult. This number is the average customer lifespan.

Now, multiply the customer value by the average customer lifespan to get the lifetime value of your customer.

Let’s look at an example. Here are your raw numbers:

$100,000 in annual revenue

250 purchases

150 unique customers

Your average purchase value would be $400 . You would then take that number and divide it by 150 to get your average purchase frequency rate, which is 2.67.

Next, you would subtract your average purchase frequency rate from your average purchase value to get $397.33, your customer value per year. If you kept your customers, on average, for 10 years, your customer lifetime value would be $3,973.30.

That’s a very simple example but it illustrates the point. This business has a lifetime customer value of nearly $4,000.

How to use Customer Lifetime Value in MarketingYou know your customer lifetime value – now what?

The short answer is that you’ve got a piece of information that can help you attract more customers and make better use of your marketing budget.

But… what does that mean in practical terms? Here are some actionable ways to use your CLV to your advantage in marketing.

Identify Your Most Profitable CustomersIf you’ve been tracking unique customer data, then it’s worth your time to crunch the numbers and learn about who your most valuable customers are.For example, you might look at your LCV by:

Age

Gender

Race

Location

Income

These basic demographics can help you do a better job of targeting your marketing campaigns to the people who are most likely to be profitable to you in the long run.

Identify Your Most Profitable Marketing ChannelYou should also calculate your most profitable marketing channel based on the number of new customers you acquire.Perhaps you have been running marketing campaigns on:

Facebook

Instagram

Google AdWords

Pinterest

Crunching the numbers might reveal that your spending on Google AdWords is earning you a significantly lower return than your Facebook advertising. Knowing that can help you take the next step.

Increase Your New Customer Acquisition SpendingIt costs more to attract new customers than to retain existing ones, but once you know your LCV, you may discover that your new customer acquisition spending is on the low side.

You don’t need to send your spending through the roof. However, you can and should look at what you’re spending compared to the LCV you’ve calculated. If you’re spending only a tiny fraction of the LCV to acquire a new customer, it may be worthwhile to spend a bit more in that area going forward.

Allocate Your Marketing Budget to Maximize Customer ValueYour lifetime customer value might not be as high as you want it to be. The good news is that there are things you can do to increase it.

For example, say that you have learned that the people who follow you on Facebook are your most engaged and profitable customers. That’s great information to have.

Instead of sinking money into something that might not be getting you a big return, you can allocate more of your marketing budget to Facebook. Some if may go toward attracting new customers, but you should also spend some trying to get existing customers to buy more frequently and spend more money.

One way to do that is to offer return customers discounts or to create a loyalty program. If you can inspire your existing customers to buy more often, then you’ll be driving up your LCV every time they do.

At the same time, incentivizing your existing customers may also attract new customers to your business. You can encourage your followers to invite their friends to your page or allow them to share a discount code or coupon with their friends.

Your Customers Are ValuableEvery customer you have contributes to your company’s success and profitability. Understanding just how much each customer is worth to you can help you do a better job of attracting new customers, increasing their lifetime value, and maximizing your profits.

Okay, that might be a slight exaggeration, but the truth is that in recent years, artificial intelligence has become more sophisticated than ever before.

And while you might think that investing in AI is for huge companies with huge budgets, the truth is that AI is more affordable – and more versatile – than you might think.

Artificial intelligence, if programmed and used properly, can help you increase your sales, enhance your customers’ experience, and manage your business more effectively. Here are 5 things you can do with artificial intelligence starting now.

#1: Expand Your Customer ServiceThere’s no denying that there’s a link between customer service and sales. Customers who are happy with your service are more likely to buy from you again. They’re also likely to recommend you to their friends.

Adding a simple customer service chatbot to your website can do a great deal to improve service. It can:

Provider customers with the immediate response they want when they have a problem

Redirect customers to self-service options they might not be able to find on their own

Let customers know that you care about them and their needs

What if you don’t know how to program a chatbot? Not to worry. Even if you don’t have the budget to hire a programmer, there are “build-a-bot” programs online that you can use to create the bot you need. You can find a list of 14 tools here, including several that will allow you to create a chatbot to use with Facebook Messenger.

#2: Learn About Customer BehaviorOne of the coolest things about artificial intelligence is something called machine learning. It’s what programmers used with the famous chess program, Deep Blue, that defeated chess champion Gary Kasparov.

Machine learning is something that can help you gather data about your customers based on their behavior and purchase habits. Basically, it’s like retargeting with a kick. You can already target customers based on past purchases and behavior. Adding AI to the mix just means that you can gather more information and use it new ways.

80% of marketers know that personalized content is more appealing to customers than generic content. Using AI tools like Convertize and Nudgify can help you tailor your web content to an individual visitor, providing them with the information and guidance they need.

#3: Provide Product SuggestionsOne straightforward way to use chatbots to increase sales is to program your chatbots to make product suggestions when customers are shopping on your site.

This idea makes it possible for you to increase sales by letting customers who are engaged with your chatbots know about products they might not otherwise find. Basically, you’ll be turning your chatbots into personal shoppers for your customers.

A client who buys a set of cookware on your site, for example, could get a recommendation for a coordinated set of cooking utensils or even a cookbook or apron. The idea is similar to what Amazon does when they display the “People who bought this item also bought” links when you view a product on their site.

This type of programming is a bit more involved than a simple customer service chatbot, but it can pay off in increased sales.

#4: Improved ProductivityIf all of your customer service is provided by employees at present, then adding AI to the mix can help you save their time – and give them more time to spend more time with customers who are at your place of business and ready to buy from you.

Think about it – if one of your sales staff must monitor social media messages or customer service tickets, they’re taking time away from customers who might need personal guidance to make a purchase.

Properly programmed, AI chatbots can deal with simple customer service requests by helping people check the status of an order, reset a password, or track a package. Your employees will spend less time on repetitive requests and more – at least in theory – with customers who are ready to buy.

At the same time, you’ll be improving your customers’ experience by giving them quicker service than they would get from an employee. And, if an employee does need to step in, your AI solutions can provide the information they need to provide top-notch service without asking the customer to repeat themselves.

#5: Respond to Customer NeedsDo you know what your customers want and why they want it? If you don’t – or if you’re only collecting detailed information from your customers sporadically – then you can use artificial intelligence to expand your knowledge of your customers and do a better job of giving them what they want.

Keatext is a tool that collects positive and negative customer feedback in real time. Instead of waiting for someone to call with a complaint (or the occasional compliment) you can get the information you need immediately.

The benefit here is that you can adjust what you are doing to provide customers with the experience they want. If people are confused by your website’s menu or unclear how to check out, you’ll know about it and can fix problems as you identify them.

There might not be an immediate link between this kind of customer feedback and sales, but in the long run, it can make a big difference in your conversion rates and your bottom line. Monitoring what your customers think about your site or social media pages allows you to make the kind of incremental improvements that will, in the long run, result in more sales.

The Robots Are Here…The bottom line is that artificial intelligence is here to say. Big companies have latched on to it as a way of improving customer service, streamlining productivity, and increasing their sales. You don’t need to have a huge budget to take advantage of the benefits of AI – and by adopting it now, you can get a leg up on your competitors.

​The answer? Understand the moments when customers pick up their phones to look for your business and craft content that gives it to them.

One way is to use what Google has coined Micro Moments, I.E. “the Customer Journey.”

​What are they and how can you use them to find new customers? Here’s what you need to know.

Right now, potential customers are online looking for your business. And you might be missing them.

Scary thought, isn’t it?​Let’s face it, there’s a ton of content out there. It can be hard to find what you’re searching for – and if the content you’re producing isn’t providing what the people in your target audience need when they need it, then they’re likely to end up with one of your competitors.

What is a Micro Moment?Google coined the term Micro Moment to respond to what they saw as a growing trend. You already know that most consumers in the US are tethered to their smart phones 24 hours a day. But they’re more intensely engaged at some moments than at others.

A Micro Moment is a moment when a consumer is intent on finding something. They want a quick answer or solution.

Google identifies them as:

In other words, a Micro Moment is a moment when a consumer is ripe to learn, experience, and buy things. It’s the ideal time to capture a new customer because they’re already in the right mindset to engage with your content.​There are some interesting statistics to back up the importance of Micro Moments. For example:

91% of smart phone users look up information on their phones while they’re in the middle of a task

82% of consumers consult their phones while they’re in a store – and of those, 20% buy something other than what they originally intended to buy

69% of online consumers say that the quality, relevance, and timing of the content they find affects their opinion of a brand (and their purchase habits)

It’s clear that there’s a benefit to Micro Moment marketing. It’s about capturing the attention of people in your area who are seeking the products or services you’re selling. The trick, of course, is knowing how and when to capture your audience’s attention at those key moments.

What You Need for Micro Moment MarketingGathering information about its customers is important for every business. You might have a small business with only one location, but you still need to understand who your customers are and how to use the data you collect to your advantage.

Some of the data to collect includes:

How your customers find your business and why they decided to buy from you

Where and how they prefer to make purchases

How they prefer to pay for their purchases

What things matter the most to them when making online purchases

For example, 53% of visitors will abandon a mobile site if it takes more than three seconds to load. That’s not much time – and if your site is slow, then you could be losing customers without realizing it.You also need to understand how customers typically approach buying a product like yours. What information do they need? Where are they likely to go to get it? And – most importantly – how can you capitalize on their habits to draw them in?

Micro Moment Best PracticesThere are some simple things you can do to engage your target audience in one of the more than 100 Micro Moments they experience each day.

Let’s start with Google’s definition of a Micro Moment. During a Micro Moment, customers want to know something, do something, go somewhere, or buy something. That means that, in order to capture their attention, your business must:

Be there, meaning that you must have content that’s easily accessible and directly related to the information the people in your target audience want during a Micro Moment

Be useful, meaning that your Micro Moment content must provide a relevant digital experience that provides a potential customer with the information they want – and the means to act on it

Be accountable, meaning that you must provide a seamless customer experience that makes it easy for customers to buy from you across all channels

How to do all three? Well, here are some suggestions:

Conduct a customer survey using email or social media to get a better idea of the kind of content your customers need to buy from you

Identify crucial points in your sales funnel, so you can capitalize on them. Here, I’m talking about the moment when a customer realizes that they need what you’re selling or that they have a problem that your product or service can solve.

Craft content that responds directly to those crucial points, providing customers with compelling content that’s both relevant and actionable.

Include in every piece of content a clear call to action that will direct your customer to your business or provide them with a phone number or a link to your website. (The key is to provide them with a way to take immediate action!)

Text your Micro Moment content and refine it until it’s giving you the return on investment that you need.

The most essential part of this process is knowing when your customers are likely to experience a Micro Moment. It might be when they’re making dinner plans or trying to get their kids ready to go back to school. The more information you have, the better able you will be to capture their attention and convert those Micro Moments into sales.​Micro Moments Are Fleeting The human attention span might be shrinking, but that just means that you have new opportunities to engage with your customers in the way that’s most useful to them – and most profitable to you. Taking the time to understand Micro Moments can help you attract new customers at the point when they are most ready to buy from you.

]]>Fri, 04 Jan 2019 06:00:00 GMThttp://www.sociallyinclined.com/blog/how-to-perfect-your-social-media-profiles-and-get-more-traffic-in-2019​Need to market your products and services? Great news! Today you have, right at your fingertips, a great way to connect with your audience that takes word-of-mouth marketing to a whole new level.​It’s called Social Media. It’s an amazing way to get traffic if you know what you’re doing. The fact is, today, you need social media to get traffic. It’s simply become too big a part of our lives. The impact is probably just as big as or bigger than Television was when it first came out on a wide scale.

Consider this, as of the middle of 2018, Facebook had 2.23 Billion users… and if you’re in the US, 72% of adults are on Facebook. That’s an astounding number. Frankly, if you can’t find your audience there, your audience doesn’t exist. While Facebook is the most used, the others also play an important factor in social media marketing depending on your audience’s demographics and your products and services.

All this activity makes social media an excellent traffic source for your products, services, and content on your website. Therefore, if you add social media marketing to your marketing strategy you’re going to get far more traffic than if you didn’t. People love sharing informative information on social media and they do it 24/7.

What’s more, all you do to get more traffic with social media is to engage with others by sharing amazing content, commenting, and sharing. It really is that easy.

But before you do anything on social media, you have to be sure your profile on your preferred platform is complete and conveying the right things to your audience.​Today, a social media profile can either make you or break you.

​If you haven’t given a lot of thought to your profiles, then it’s time to pay attention to them (before you do anything else).

Most people, before following, liking, or friending you on social media will click and look at your profile to ensure that you’re the type of person they want to follow.​Not only that - potential clients, customers, and employers look at social media profiles to determine whether or not they want to do business with you. Thankfully, it’s not that hard to make a good profile and you can use components of any profile on one social media network, tweak it and use it on another. After all, you want your profiles to be cohesive across all channels.

It Starts with the perfect Profile and Cover Photo If you’re creating a personal profile to represent yourself as a business owner, then you need a great headshot that represents the professional tone of your industry. Choose good lighting and images that really flatter you. Profile photos should be 2/3 your head and shoulders so it becomes recognizable in newsfeeds. You Cover photo should tell a story in about 3 seconds. Get into Canva (watch the tutorial here) and create a cover photo that you are proud of!

Provide Directed Information You don’t need to put everything you’ve ever done on your profiles. Instead, pick and choose what you put on the profile based on what you’re trying to accomplish. Remember to phrase everything toward your ideal client. They should read your profile and immediately understand what you do, who you do it for, and why you do it.

Distinguish Yourself from Others Depending on the platform you’re using, outside of your picture you probably have other things that can showcase what you do for people. Be sure your Bios are complete and add interest to your Bio by using line-breaks and emojis. Some social media networks like LinkedIn allow you to put video, slide shows, PDF documents and more for your audience to be able to review what you do and the results of what you’ve done.

Keep It Up-to-Date You want to try to at least update your profile on a monthly basis. Update your status as often as the network average. For example, they say to update Twitter three to five times a day, Facebook about three or four times a day, Instagram once a day, and LinkedIn once a day. If there is no activity on the profile it will seem as if you aren’t active in your business. People might pass you up.

Keep Professional and Personal Separate When possible, keep your professional life separate from your personal life. But, realize that people who are actively searching for you, especially on Facebook and Instagram, may find your personal profile as well as your business profile. In this case, ensure that you set your account settings properly.

Making a wow-worthy profile is an important component in being active in any community. Now you’re ready to start putting your content out there!

To be successful, use story-telling images, original blurbs, memes, and even live events to get the word out about your products and services. Always make the content you provide easily shareable, optimized for search engines, and laser targeted to your audience. Then, ensure that you never forget the important social aspect of social media, engagement.

Engagement is essential to be successful on social media even if you do run paid advertisements. Answer comments, make valuable suggestions, and freely help people. As you become known as a problem solver you’re going to get even more traffic from your social media marketing efforts.

In February of 2018, Facebook announced plans to prioritize personal content and de-prioritize content from pages.

​That means that if you’ve got a Facebook page for your local business, your content is only being seen by a very small percentage of your followers unless you pay to promote it.

​Nothing to be done, right?

It’s one of those things that you can’t control… or is it?It turns out there’s a super-easy (and FREE) way to connect with both existing and potential customers on Facebook without paying to promote your content. It involves creating a Facebook group to promote your brand. Here’s what you need to know.

Group Content is Prioritized Ahead of Brand Content The first thing you need to know is that Facebook has downgraded content posted by company and brand pages. However, it still prioritizes content from groups.Why? Well, the short answer is that people must voluntarily opt in to a group.

You might be thinking that users have voluntarily followed your page, too – and that’s true. But Facebook views groups differently than pages. It has to do with the purpose of a group:

A group’s purpose is to promote conversation and build a community.

You might want your page to do that, too, but Facebook assumes that the primary goal of a page is to sell a product or service. That’s an important distinction.In other words, by creating a Facebook group, you can build your brand and engage with customers without worrying that members won’t see your content.

Not convinced? There’s actually research to support the idea that groups are a better way to reach your audience than pages. A study by Digiterati revealed that groups get approximately 50% more reach than pages.

Creating a Group is Easy You can create a Facebook group from your personal Facebook page. In fact, the process is very similar to the one for creating a Facebook page like the one you have for your business.Simply go to the upper, right-hand corner of your Facebook page and click the little down arrow there. You’ll see an option to Create Group. Click it and follow the steps.It’s important to choose a memorable, brand-specific name for your group. You don’t want to give it the same name as your page, but you do want it to appear in the search results when people search for your business.

The title should be inspired by the content you’ll be posting. So, if you run a dog grooming business, you might offer dog care tips and incorporate that into your group name, like this:Fancy Dog Groomer’s Dog Care AdviceIn other words, combine your business with name with some compelling, buzzy words to make people want to join your group.

Invite People to Join You’ve created a group… but what’s next?

That’s easy. It’s time to invite some people to join. Here are some easy ways to jump-start your group and get new members:

Send group invitations to everyone who follows your business page.

Send invitations to your personal connections on Facebook.

Send an email to your list with a link to your group and an invitation to join.

If you have a Twitter account for your business, Tweet an invitation to your followers.

It’s likely that a significant percentage of your followers will join the group. Once they’ve done that, you can also post content in the group encouraging members to send out invitations.

Create Compelling ContentOnce you’ve created your group and invited some members, it’s time to create content. Remember, the primary goal of group content is to drive engagement. You want members to be talking to you and to one another.

Facebook has a tool to create Welcome posts. Underneath Members on the toolbar, click Write Post. Facebook will automatically tag up to 100 new members (in this context, new means that they have joined in the past seven days) in the post. If you prefer, you can write a general welcome post and ask new members to introduce themselves in the comments.

Here are some other suggestions for engaging group content:

Inspirational posts can be a good way to engage your members. For example, if you’re a life coach, you might post something inspirational on a Monday morning and then ask group members what they do to keep themselves motivated.

Tips and advice can also make great content. You can share things that you’ve picked up while running your business and then ask members if they have anything to add – or if they’ve tried any of the things you’ve suggested.

Community discussions can drive engagement and make your group page a lively place to be. You might post a question or conversational topic and then ask members to chime in with their answers or opinions.

Q & A posts are great for getting people involved. Creating a post can be a simple as saying “I know people have questions about ______. Post them in the comments and I’ll answer them!” Only do a post like this on a day when you have the time to respond promptly.

Depending on the kind of business you run, you may want to share success stories from members. For example, if you do local marketing, you could share a story from a member who killed it with a marketing campaign. And if you sell a product, you could share photos of members using what they bought.

The content you create will have a direct impact on the success of your group.

Social Learning Groups Do you have the kind of business that lends itself to the creation of video courses? If you do, you might want to check out Facebook’s new Social Learning Groups feature, which enables groups to add video courses to their group pages.

To add courses, go to the Edit Group Settings tab and choose Group Type. Then, select Social Learning Group from the menu.

From there, you can create new Units for your courses. They can be optional or mandatory, and if they’re mandatory, users will see a progress bar to track their accomplishments.

The great thing about this feature is that you can upload courses or webinars you have already created or create new content. You can find a full guide on how to use this feature here.

Groups Are the New Pages The bottom line is that Facebook Groups are to businesses today what Facebook Pages were five years ago. They offer an inexpensive but effective way to connect with current and prospective clients, build your brand, and grow your business.

As a business owner, you’ve got to wear many hats in the course of a day. You might be a salesperson one minute and a human resources manager the next. It’s a lot to do.​And, when it comes to add items to your to-do list, you might do everything you can to minimize what you take on.

Your time’s limited – and valuable – and there are only so many hours in a day.

Website maintenance is the perfect example. It might seem unnecessary – and you might wonder if it’s something you can ignore.Hot tip: It’s not. In fact, website maintenance is essential to everything from SEO to user engagement – and those things both lead directly to your bottom line. Here’s why.

Google and Website Maintenance Let’s start with something that’s a huge priority for most business owners: earning (and keeping) a high Google rank for your primary keywords.As you know, Google doesn’t make its search algorithm public. However, we do no some things about it. For example, we know that:

Google prioritizes fresh content

Websites with a high bounce rate don’t rank as high as websites with a low bounce rate

Google cares about security and will sometimes penalize sites that aren’t secure

Put these three things together and it’s pretty clear that failing to maintain your website can affect your search rank.

WordPress and Website MaintenanceIf you used WordPress to build your site, then you need to do routine maintenance to ensure that your theme, security, and plugins are all up-to-date.In fact, that’s true of any Content Management System (CMS) websites, including Drupal, Joomla, Magento, and others.

A failure to do regular (at least monthly) updates on your website can lead to a host of problems, including slow loading times, security breaches, and even a drop in your page rank with Google.Most updates don’t take long and considering the negative impact they can have on your website, they’re worth doing regularly.

Website Maintenance and the User Experience What does website maintenance have to do with the way users experience your website? The short answer is: quite a lot.You’ve probably had the experience of clicking on a link from Google’s SERP and landing on a page that’s slow to load. You may have hit the back button to return to the list of search results and try another site. In other words, you bounced – and that means that, as a user, you had a negative experience with that site.

A user’s experience on your website can also be affected by these things:

Stale or outdated content

Broken internal or external links

A confusing menu or a lack of intuitive navigation (such as having your logo be a hotlink back to your home page)

Page not found (404) errors

Spelling and grammar mistakes

If it’s been a long time since you’ve updated your web content or checked your links, this might be a good time to do an audit of your site, identify potential problems, and fix them.

Website Maintenance and Security We’ve already covered several reasons that website maintenance should be a priority, but there’s one more – and it’s hugely important.

Let’s use WordPress as an example. If you have a WordPress site, then you’re probably using multiple plugins, whether they’re free or premium, to give your site the features you want. Any plugin has the potential to give hackers access to your site if it’s not properly maintained.

It’s your responsibility to install any updates and patches as soon as they become available. You’ve also got to ensure that your code is up-to-date and that you’ve done things like update your site to HTTPS to protect and encrypt your data.

What You Can Do Right Now to Maintain Your Website You know why website maintenance should be a priority, but what can you do about it right now? Here are some quick suggestions.

Log into your WordPress dashboard and check for updates to your WP theme and any plugins on your site. Install them immediately and then create a schedule to remind yourself to log in at least once a month to take care of updates.

Do a quick audit of your site. Check for:

Broken internal and external links

Outdated or stale content

Slow loading times

Spelling and grammatical errors

Fix any of the errors you identified in your audit. Internal links you can fix yourself. If an external link isn’t working, you should either remove it or find a link to replace it. If spelling and grammar aren’t your strong suit, hire a proofreader or editor to review your content for you.

Update your content. Your basic content (like your homepage and About Us page) don’t need to be updated regularly, but it can’t hurt to make a few tweaks to get Google to crawl and re-index your page.

Find a way to post fresh content at least once a month. Whether you add a blog to your site, write a press release, or add a news page that you can easily update, do something to ensure that you’re posting new content regularly.

Backup your website to ensure you can recover your data in the event that something happens. Specifically, you should back up:

Your website’s code, including Javascript, HTML, CSS, PHP code, themes, plugins, and other files. Plan a backup anytime you change or update your site, as well as any time your CMS releases an update.

Your content, including audio files, images, text, and videos. Backup at least once a quarter – but, if you have a blog, you may want to create a new backup every time you post something new.

Create a comprehensive web maintenance schedule to remind yourself of what you need to do and when you need to do it.

It might seem like a lot to do, but once you’ve done your initial maintenance, it should only take you a short amount of time to stay on top of things.

Maintaining Your Website is a Must…Website maintenance might not be glamorous, but it can spell the difference between building a meaningful web presence and having your website fall off the map. Dedicating just a little time to it each month will ensure that users to your site have a great experience – and that your data is safe.

​If you’re paying attention, you know that cybercrime is no joke. In 2015, cybercrime cost $3 trillion annually, and projections indicate that number will double by 2021.

Yikes.

The real question is, what are you doing to protect yourself? A lot of local business owners do the bare minimum and tell themselves it’s enough.

I’ll let you in on a little secret: it’s not enough. If all you’re doing is updating your anti-virus software and filtering out spam, you’re still vulnerable.​Scared? You should be. But that doesn’t mean you can’t do something to protect yourself. Cybersecurity experts are working constantly to stay ahead of hackers. Here are 8 ways you can protect your website and data.

#1: Keep All Software UpdatedHave you ever received a notification that your software needed an update and delayed it because it wasn’t convenient? The answer is probably yes, and yet delaying updates for your website can leave you vulnerable to hackers.

One of the best ways to protect your site is to install all updates and patches as soon as they are available. Yes, it can be a pain to do it. But you need to weigh that against the inconvenience and cost of being hacked. Any software, application, or plug-in you use should be as up-to-date as possible at all times.

#2: Install an SSL Certificate on Your SiteAs of 2018, Google Chrome is displaying a warning on any site that doesn’t use HTTPS protocol to protect its data. But that’s only part of the problem.Having a secure site will build trust with your users. More importantly, it will make it far more difficult for a hacker to gain access to your data or to use it in the event they can break through your other defenses.

There are several types of SSL certificates. You can read about them here and decide which one is best suited to your needs.

#3: Require Strong PasswordsWhen you log into your site on WordPress, do you use a password that you also use for other sites? When was the last time you changed it? If the answers are yes and never, it’s time to create a new password, one that uses upper and lower-case letters, numbers, and special symbols.

At the same time, look at your password requirements for your site’s other users. If you allow clients to sign in on a portal, you should require them to use strong passwords and update them regularly. This is a common-sense change you can make that can prevent hackers from accessing your site.

#4: Hide Your Admin and Login Folders in Plain SightHackers sometimes take the easy way out and scan websites for folders with names like ‘admin’ or ‘login.’ They can focus their attention on those folders and, if they’re successful, gain access to your data through them.

There’s actually a very easy way to prevent this – or at least, to make it more difficult for hackers to find your folders. Instead of giving your folders obvious names, try giving them innocuous names that don’t reveal their importance. A determined hacker may still be able to find them, but at least you won’t have made it easy for them.

#5: Use Double Validation for Form DataDo you collect data using forms that are embedded in your website? If you do, then the potential exists for a hacker to inject malicious code using the form. And, if your form is in a “one and done” format, you’re making it easier than it should be for them to do exactly that.

The solution is to use double validation for all of your form data. That way, you can accomplish two things:

Help valid users by ensuring that the data they enter on their forms is properly formatted; and

HTML 5 form validation is now supported by all browsers. You can read more about it here.

#6: Limit File UploadsIf your website has a customer portal where users can upload files, you’ve got to be careful to include extra security measures around the uploads. Why? Because an infected file could easily take your website down. A user might even upload a file they don’t know is infected.

There are a lot of things you can do to protect yourself, but the best option is to quarantine uploaded files outside of your server, so they can be scanned before you allow them in. You should also use secure transport methods (like SFTP or SSH) when allowing files to be uploaded from the internet. Learn more here.

#7: Minimize Administrative Access to Your SiteHow many people have the login information for your site? If you have given administrative authority to multiple employees, then you could be opening yourself up to attacks by giving hackers more potential entry points to your data.

Does that mean you should deny anyone access to your site? Not necessarily. But here’s what you should do:

Delete any users who don’t need access to your site or who no longer work for you

Require every user to use a strong password that they update regularly

Talk to your administrators about security and the importance of protecting your data

A lot of big companies use what’s called a “least access” system, which limits employee access to only those systems that they need to use to do their jobs. That’s a method that can work for small companies as well.

Website Security Should Be Your Priority A lot of small and medium-sized businesses think they won’t be targeted by hackers because they don’t store the same kind of data that big organizations do. Don’t make that mistake. Even a small data breach can do irreparable harm to your business, causing you to lose money. Even worse, it can damage the trust you’ve built with your clients.

Having a great-looking website that represents your company is enough to keep your business healthy and growing – right?

If only it were that simple. The sad truth is that most local businesses aren’t doing everything they can to generate leads online.

​And, it all starts with their websites, which – let’s face it – aren’t getting the job done.

In fact, I’ll take it a step further. If you’re not opening your inbox to find new leads from your website every day, you might as well not have a website.

The good news is, you can change that. Your website might be basic or have all the bells and whistles. It might be years old or freshly designed. No matter what it looks like, you can make it better and turn it into a 24-hour marketing machine.

I’m not going to bore you with the same old advice you’ve heard a million times. You know that your site needs great content and a killer call to action. Instead, let’s dig into some of the next-level stuff you can do to kick your website’s lead-generating power into high gear.

Do a Complete Website Audit for SEO and User Experience Audits. Nobody likes them, but they’re necessary if you want to fine-tune your website and get more leads than you are now.

A website audit should look at two things. The first thing is SEO. You want to make sure that:

Each page on your site is optimized for a local keyword

You’ve completed every tag and you’re using your keywords in them

You’ve written a killer meta description for every page

Your site is free of broken links and spammy links

You’ve got a good system of internal links

The second element of your audit should focus on the user experience. You may even want to hire testers to pinpoint roadblocks on your site. If your pages take too long to load or your site is difficult to understand, user testing can help you get to the bottom of it. You can find a list of effective usability tools here, including some that will allow you to create heat maps of your site even mimic the eye movements of users.

Use Responsive Content For many local businesses, creating one-size-fits-all content is the goal. It’s certainly easier to do that than to work on unique content based on the user’s preferences and needs. But I’ll let you in on a secret: it’s also holding you back in terms of conversions.

You have two basic options when it comes to tailoring your content to a visitor’s interests:

Create separate landing pages for each product or service you provide and then craft a marketing campaign around them; or

Have visitors to your home page check boxes to identify their interests and then display responsive content tailored to their selections.

The first method is the old-school way of marketing. The second is something that’s become increasingly popular.

Here’s a simple example of responsive content. This martial arts school prompts visitors to choose a program on the home page. Once they do, they get a page of content where they can choose “pain points” to see the benefits of the program.

Once they finish choosing, the page would display information related to their choices, including benefits and frequently asked questions like this.

Writing this type of content doesn’t take any more time than it would take to write individual pages of content. It ensures that every visitor to your site feels that they matter. You can even offer lead magnets that are tailored to each product if you choose.

Live Updates and ChatWhat happens when someone visits your website outside of your regular business hours? If the answer is that visitors are greeted with a static site that does nothing to acknowledge their presence, then it might be time for an update.

Interactive and live content can help you engage new visitors to your site and give the impression that you’re there to serve them even if you’re at home with your family. There are two simple changes you can make that will engage visitors at any time of day.

The first is by providing live updates. That means displaying a notification any time someone new fills out your contact form or buys your product. This is something we’ve been seeing on some sales pages as well as on website home pages.

To see an example, check out the website for Inspire Martial Arts in Burbank, CA. They display a notification that reads, “Jane from Burbank requested information about our classes.” If your site gets a decent amount of traffic, these notifications will capture visitors’ attention and create a sense of urgency.

The second option is live chat. You’ve probably noticed live chat windows popping up on some of the websites you visit. They often have a greeting, something like “Hi! How can we help you?”

The technology behind this type of live chat is actually less complicated (and less expensive) than you might think. It’s basically a chatbot that can be programmed with simple answers to your most commonly asked questions. If you’ve got an online store, your chatbot can even make product suggestions.

It might surprise you to learn that there are programs that will allow you to design your own chatbot. Of course, you can pay a programmer – and you may need to if you want your bot to engage in complex interactions. But if all you want is a simple bot to give the impression that you’re available at all times, you can check out this article for more information on DIY options.

FAQs and Self Service If it’s been a long time since you updated your FAQs, then reviewing them and adding some updated information with internal links to your lead forms and sales pages can go a long way toward helping your website generate leads.

Not sure which questions to answer? Try checking your social media pages for ideas. Your followers probably ask questions and if several people ask the same question, it should be part of your FAQ.

A related issue is self-service options. The more information you provide on your site, the more likely it is that visitors will want to buy from you. Providing articles, links, infographics, and other information can help you keep visitors engaged and increase your conversions.

ConclusionThere’s no reason your website shouldn’t be generating leads around the clock. In addition to the usual advice about your content, images, design, and call to action, the four areas we’ve outlined here can help you engage visitors, get more leads, and ultimately, close more sales.

It seems that entrepreneurs either really LOVE or really HATE social media... There doesn't seem to be a lot of middle ground. And what’s worse is that posting just isn’t enough today, you have to create engagement. Engagement is the key to online visibility and a successful social media marketing strategy. Facebook rewards engagement by opening your content to new viewers so if your post doesn’t get any traction early it is most likely doomed to not be seen.

For a post to be successful you must engage your followers by interacting with them and encouraging them to interact with each other. This means sharing, liking, commenting, mentioning, messaging, and more. If you can successfully create this interaction, you will see your visibility, credibility and audience grow and become more active over time.

Keep reading to find the 5 things you can do TODAY to increase your online visibility and engagement to create the credibility and sales you need to grow and thrive online.

1. Get Personal

Let your audience get to know you. Remember people do business with people so you need to showcase you, your talents and your interests. ​Entrepreneurs seem to either LOVE or HATE social media. There doesn't seem to be a lot middle ground here. There are many reasons for this but the most prevalent reason is that there are so many people that are introverts that do not like to promote themselves at all.​Whether you love it or hate it there are probably some things you can do to get more personal. Start blending a little more of your personal life into your posts. People want to know you.

2. Get Engaged

Asking and answering questions is a great way to put yourself out there to make new connections. The first rule of social media is to be social. The best way to sell on social media is to sell yourself first. Don't just drop product links and hope people will buy.

Asking questions on your profile, pages and groups will get people involved even if it isn't business related. It will also help to open the algorithm for your posts to be seen by more people. The more you can get people to engage the more your posts will be seen. As people start to engage with your content they will see it more regularly. That means they will see your promotions as well. ​People do business with people and you have to make connections for people to know, like and trust you. Answering questions is the best way to help and let people get to know you and ultimately trust you to buy your products or services.

3. Get Current

Current events are a great way to capitalize on local and national happenings. There is no shortage of content surrounding events. People are always celebrating birthdays, anniversaries, holidays and more. Celebrating with gifs and comments can go a long way for exposure.People love to be recognized so be on the lookout for accomplishments that you can congratulate others for as well. Be sure to post your own content but be on the lookout for other people's content that you can like, comment and share to gain exposure.There are always specific hashtags for events to be sure to use those to get more traction and exposure for your content.

4. Get Inspired

Since the invention of social media networking, sharing inspirational quotes has been the most widely used form of posting on social media. Today with all of the negativity and bulling on social media we could all use a little more encouragement.There are many ways to encourage and share good will online. Today we are going to go over a five ways you can inspire and encourage others to take action. People are naturally drawn to positive people and will want to join in which in turn pays it forward!Inspiring others to take action will make people take note of your ability to lead and hopefully want to work with you.

5. Get a Plan

Social media is an extremely fast moving form of media and of course you can fly by the seat of your pants and post all willy nilly but you won't get good traction with that approach.

Social media can also suck you in and trap you for hours if you are not careful. You need to have a plan of action and know the steps you need to take when it comes to using social media for business.​There are some simple steps that will allow you to save time in the long run. Most of these are one time steps that will help you organize and streamline the process.Having a plan will help you to have more time for engagement activities like commenting and interacting with others thereby making real connections.

You rarely get any likes, comments or shares on your social media posts.

You struggle with knowing what to post on social media to get interaction.

You want to be recognized as the go to business in your field.

You want to be confident in your messaging and know you are reaching your target client.

You want to attract customers and generate online sales.

It's easy... just sign up and you'll receive access to our members area where you will see 5 short videos along with downloadable instructions and template to post on social media. You'll also have access to ask questions and get the most out of the challenge.

Facebook continues to be one of the most popular and influential social media platforms in the world with more than one billion active users.

As a business, you can no longer continue to leave Facebook out of your online marketing strategy.If you want to grow your business, you have to have a presence on Facebook. However, to be successful, and build your Facebook fan base, you have to be engaged with your audience.

​Here are five of the best ways that you can boost Facebook engagement and increase your fan base.

Ask Questions

A great way to spark dialogue with your audience is to ask them questions. It’s by far one of the easiest ways to boost audience engagement on your Facebook fan page. The type questions that you can ask to get your fans to engage with you are endless. The key is to just get the conversation started.

Include Call to Actions

​Unfortunately, from a marketing standpoint using clear CTA’s is something a lot of small businesses simply overlook.

Placing a call to action on your website pages and social media platforms sends psychological nudges that are proven to help you drive your audience to respond the way you want. Want your audience to click here, call now, or schedule a consultation? Then tell them to do so. People tend to respond more often when they are told what to respond to.

Get the Timing Right

This may be obvious, but when it comes to posting to your Facebook page, timing is crucial. Facebook’s organic reach is already pretty low so the last thing that you want to do is post when everyone is working or sleeping.

Numerous studies have proven that the best times to engage with your audience is to post at 9 am, 1 pm, and 3 pm. These are the times that your audience is most likely to check for updates. Scheduling your posts ahead of time is an easy way to keep your audience engaged, even when you’re not online.

Utilize Facebook Ads

Due to Facebook's newest algorithm, only a small fraction of your audience will get to see the wall posts on your Facebook page. If you want to boost the engagement of your audience, you can promote it through page post story ads, which will help your posts reach more people.

Posting Frequency The frequency that you post has been shown to have a significant effect on Facebook engagement. According to recent studies, businesses that post one or two times per day have 40 percent higher engagement rate than those who post more than three times per day.

What works for some businesses may not work for others when it comes to boosting audience engagement. But generally speaking these tips are a great place to start if you want to increase your engagement with your audience, and generate more targeted traffic to your business.